Issue 6, 2018

Bacterial bioreporter detection of arsenic associated with iron oxides

Abstract

Bacterial bioreporters are engineered microorganisms that have found recent application as a low-cost method of detecting arsenic (As) in environmental systems. However, no assessment exists of bioreporter detection of particle-bound As. We applied an Escherichia coli-based bioreporter to assess the bioavailability of As(V) adsorbed by goethite (α-FeOOH), 2-line ferrihydrite and As(V) co-precipitated with Fe(III). We found that As(V) bound to the surface of crystalline goethite was not detected by the bioreporters, which contrasted sharply the 50% detection of As(V) adsorbed by ferrihydrite. In addition, the presence of Ca2+ caused a systematic decrease in the bioreporter-detected As(V) fraction in the ferrihydrite samples. For co-precipitated As(V)–Fe(III) samples, we found a similar bioreporter-detected As(V) fraction (<0.2) regardless of crystallite size (0.7–2.5 nm) or As Fe−1 surface loading (10–60 mol%). Our results reveal that the bioreporter response depends largely on aggregated particle size, which is expected to physically isolate As(V) from bioreporters by encapsulating surface-bound As(V) in coagulated flocs. Our results show that while bioreporters do not perform optimally in water that contains Fe particles, this method could be developed for sludge testing and for monitoring As levels in the product water of decentralized Fe-based As treatment systems.

Graphical abstract: Bacterial bioreporter detection of arsenic associated with iron oxides

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Feb 2018
Accepted
20 Mai 2018
First published
22 Mai 2018

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2018,20, 913-922

Bacterial bioreporter detection of arsenic associated with iron oxides

Case M. van Genuchten, A. Finger, J. R. van der Meer and J. Peña, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2018, 20, 913 DOI: 10.1039/C8EM00071A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements